2020-2021 NBA Season thread

[EricaLubarsky]

Originally Posted by saclare

How would Dragic fit into the rotation here? I'm not seeing where I'd poach minutes. If anything maybe from SD and JG, but then again, the 8-man has been solid, albeit for one series.

As much as SD has been disappointing in the playoffs, I don’t think we want/need Goran now.


Before the trade, I’d have penciled him in for that third ball handler spot

[EricaLubarsky]

Despite hating Beverly it’s actually fun to cheer for the Wolves. They play with a ton of passion and they’re giving the Grizz all they can handle

[BPo001]

Originally Posted by EricaLubarsky

Despite hating Beverly it’s actually fun to cheer for the Wolves. They play with a ton of passion and they’re giving the Grizz all they can handle

I weirdly want Minn to win. I think it’s because Ja has been crowned as a superstar who some think is better than Luka. Him getting upset in the first round might pump the breaks on that a bit. They do play with a ton of passion which is fun to see. Minn giving it away here though. KAT needs to demand the ball on every possession.

[BPo001]

Trae Young was awful this series against Miami.

[BPo001]

Minn down 1 has the ball with 26 seconds. DLo brings it up the court. Doesn’t pass it. No screens set. Drives and takes a terrible shot. Not sure what he was thinking.

[DevinHarriswillstart]

Originally Posted by BPo001

Trae Young was awful this series against Miami.

He is literally terrible 50% of the time which is a weird phenomenon because it goes from AMAZING to TERRIBLE at the drop of a hat. And it happens in the same game, too.

Oh and the worst defender I've ever seen. Yes, worse than Nash or Harden.

[EricaLubarsky]

As much as I liked the Wolves, it was satisfying that they lost because Ja torched P-Bev

[Scoobay]

Originally Posted by DevinHarriswillstart

He is literally terrible 50% of the time which is a weird phenomenon because it goes from AMAZING to TERRIBLE at the drop of a hat. And it happens in the same game, too.

Oh and the worst defender I've ever seen. Yes, worse than Nash or Harden.

given what we've seen up until this point - how valuable is Trae? Can he ever be the best player on a championship team? does he just need more time to improve or is he what he is at this point?
clearly a gifted offensive player but a huge negative on defense. Just so limited on that side of things i don't know that there's any possibility of improvement really...

[BPo001]

Originally Posted by EricaLubarsky

As much as I liked the Wolves, it was satisfying that they lost because Ja torched P-Bev

He did, but the refs definitely missed some obvious calls in the 4th. One where Ja pushed Pat (I think it was him) out of bounds, and the dunk was a charge. Defender was clearly there before Ja took off. TWolves gave this series away because they should have already sent Memphis packing.

[DevinHarriswillstart]

Originally Posted by Scoobay

given what we've seen up until this point - how valuable is Trae? Can he ever be the best player on a championship team? does he just need more time to improve or is he what he is at this point?
clearly a gifted offensive player but a huge negative on defense. Just so limited on that side of things i don't know that there's any possibility of improvement really...

He has the speed to be a waterbug guard that can at least keep up with his man, but he can't keep up with slower players to save his life. It's so weird. Lack of effort.

I think Atlanta needs a better coach. That would go a long way.

[EricaLubarsky]

Originally Posted by Scoobay

given what we've seen up until this point - how valuable is Trae? Can he ever be the best player on a championship team? does he just need more time to improve or is he what he is at this point?
clearly a gifted offensive player but a huge negative on defense. Just so limited on that side of things i don't know that there's any possibility of improvement really...

I mean Nash was like that and he was fairly successful but never won anything.

I still think Nash was 100x the creator, though. His ballhandling and court vision was maybe 2nd or 3rd all-time.

Trae? NBA is trying to make him a star, but he's Stevie Francis at best and without Yao, Francis flared out quick.

[saclare]

Originally Posted by EricaLubarsky

I mean Nash was like that and he was fairly successful but never won anything.

I still think Nash was 100x the creator, though. His ballhandling and court vision was maybe 2nd or 3rd all-time.

Trae? NBA is trying to make him a star, but he's Stevie Francis at best and without Yao, Francis flared out quick.

I just had a back and forth with a Hawks fan on twitter. I commented on a Statsmuse tweet showing Trae's awful series and how we can put to bed any remaining arguments that Hawks somehow won the trade and if Trae is even in the same atmosphere of Luka.

I also stated I would take SGA straight up over Trae and I don't think I would hesitate.

[EricaLubarsky]

Originally Posted by saclare

I just had a back and forth with a Hawks fan on twitter. I commented on a Statsmuse tweet showing Trae's awful series and how we can put to bed any remaining arguments that Hawks somehow won the trade and if Trae is even in the same atmosphere of Luka.

I also stated I would take SGA straight up over Trae and I don't think I would hesitate.

35% shooting
22% from three
20 field goals made, 24 turnovers

Hard to argue that he didn't have one of the most inefficient series in modern history

[DevinHarriswillstart]

Originally Posted by saclare

I just had a back and forth with a Hawks fan on twitter. I commented on a Statsmuse tweet showing Trae's awful series and how we can put to bed any remaining arguments that Hawks somehow won the trade and if Trae is even in the same atmosphere of Luka.

I also stated I would take SGA straight up over Trae and I don't think I would hesitate.

Well their argument is that he is 6'1. So is Brunson who is averaging 28 ppg in the postseason so....

[Scoobay]

Originally Posted by DevinHarriswillstart

Well their argument is that he is 6'1. So is Brunson who is averaging 28 ppg in the postseason so....

right... so would you take Trae over Brunson at this point? Since they've been drafted i've wondered what Brunson would be able to do if given the same opportunities that Trae has.
They've both had 4 years to grow and adapt to the NBA game.
no question the hawks should be looking for a better coach, but interesting how things have flipped compared to this time last year when the hawks were headed to the ECF and Brunson had struggled vs. the clips again...

[EricaLubarsky]

Trying to take the Third seed was a good idea

Suns are tough, but Nuggets are also trash

[EricaLubarsky]

https://streamable.com/wf62kq

Crazy home cooking

Dray grabs Gordon’s leg to pull him down/injure him. Refs call Gordon for the tech.

[EricaLubarsky]

Brothers screws the pels

[BPo001]

The Philadelphia 76ers have reached the second round, but at the cost of the MVP candidate.

Sixers star Joel Embiid is out with no timetable to return after sustaining a right orbital fracture and mild concussion in the team's series-clinching Game 6 win over the Toronto Raptors in the first round.

[Scoobay]

tpups doing a good job shutting Ja down tonight - 3-10 shooting, 5 TO's

[EricaLubarsky]

https://official.nba.com/l2m/L2MRepo...eId=0042100146

Refs admit they screwed up and have the game to the Suns

[EricaLubarsky]

Originally Posted by Scoobay

tpups doing a good job shutting Ja down tonight - 3-10 shooting, 5 TO's

Morant was trash but Grizz just feasted on the boards

Almost +20

[Scoobay]

Originally Posted by EricaLubarsky

Morant was trash but Grizz just feasted on the boards

Almost +20

Let's not forget KAT "best shooting big man ever" coming up huge with the 6-19 FG performance when it mattered most, including 0-3 from 3 and 6-9 FT.

[BPo001]

StatMuse: Desmond Bane averaged 24 PPG on 50/48/90% in the first round. pic.twitter.com/8jdHQUmHqD – via Twitter statmuse

[EricaLubarsky]

Warriors closing lineup

Wiggins
Thompson
GPII
Poole
Curry

[Scoobay]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CDTrUdGRUvA

Is Rudy Gobert valuable in the playoffs?? - Thinking Basketball

[saclare]

Originally Posted by EricaLubarsky

Warriors closing lineup

Wiggins
Thompson
GPII
Poole
Curry

Context here is that Green was ejected, but yea, pretty much their m.o.

[DevinHarriswillstart]

Originally Posted by Scoobay

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CDTrUdGRUvA

Is Rudy Gobert valuable in the playoffs?? - Thinking Basketball

Great video. So of course Gobert is good at defense, but it's what he costs you that is the main issue. You can't pay him like he is a superstar because he isn't one. And the cost of that, like what happened with the Jazz, is perimeter defense.

Perimeter defense>around the basket D. And it's generally cheaper (DFS, Bullock, Green).

And what happens if Mitchell or Clarkson go down? The value of big men like that plummet which is why we traded KP. That's why the Mavs were able to weather Luka going down because we had Dinwiddie as insurance.

[Scoobay]

Originally Posted by DevinHarriswillstart

Great video. So of course Gobert is good at defense, but it's what he costs you that is the main issue. You can't pay him like he is a superstar because he isn't one. And the cost of that, like what happened with the Jazz, is perimeter defense.

Perimeter defense>around the basket D. And it's generally cheaper (DFS, Bullock, Green).

And what happens if Mitchell or Clarkson go down? The value of big men like that plummet which is why we traded KP. That's why the Mavs were able to weather Luka going down because we had Dinwiddie as insurance.

https://www.slcdunk.com/nba-offseaso...son-interviews

It's interesting to read the Jazz fans' perspective.
There are certainly Gobert apologists and also Gobert haters.

The answer to how the Jazz can fix their issues is probably somewhere in between. No question that the video shows how often the mavs' plethora of on ball dribble drivers were able to get past their man forcing Gobert to collapse. The Jazz have poor on ball defenders who couldn't stay in front of the Mavs 3 headed PG trio. So for the Jazz to be more successful, they need better defenders in general, especially on the perimeter.

The other side of that though, is that Rudy doesn't bring enough offensive game to punish teams for going 5 out. as we saw, the mavs would switch literally anybody to just put a body on Gobert and the Jazz wouldn't pass him the ball or even look his way. When your 5 man is not a threat in the post then it's a lot easier for teams to go 5 out and punish you. So for a max player type of contract, Rudy doesn't bring enough offense to make up for his defensive prowess.

i think this whole analysis is fascinating for Mavs fans clamoring for a big (myself included). Is it enough to have someone in the mold of Gobert (we have the mini version who's not as good at rebounding or defense in Powell)? or do we need someone with better mobility, better outside shooting, enough low post game to punish teams going small, etc?

In that regards i was very interested in EJ Liddell who should project to be at least an average 3 point shooter. At only 6'7" or so he'd be a small ball big man type and my hope for a poor man's Draymond which everyone and their mother is looking for the next one. Would it be good enough for the mavs to get a traditional center?

[Scoobay]

nasty nasty foul by Brooks on GP2
completely clobbered his head with his elbow/forearm. so dangerous. hope he's ok
hope brooks gets multiple games for that - stupid man.

update: fractured elbow for gp2 - return timeframe unknown - that sucks. bad bad

[Scoobay]

Bucks playing dirty - Bobby Portis throwing elbows and Mess Matthews doing a slide tackle taking a guy out.

[Scoobay]

Holy…
Gsw shot 63/53/90% en route to 142 points
Coulda been more - they were sloppy with 17 TO’s
Ridiculous

[BPo001]

Adrian Wojnarowski: Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic has been voted the NBA’s Most Valuable Player for a second consecutive season, sources tell ESPN. A formal announcement is expected this week. – via Twitter wojespn

StatMuse: First 2000/1000/500 season ever. First to average 25/13/6 in a season ever (he’s averaging 27/14/8). First player in top 10 PPG, RPG, APG, FG% in last 50 seasons. Highest PER ever. A worthy MVP -via Twitter statmuse

[EricaLubarsky]

Kyle Anderson with a truly legendary FT line

2-7 right now

[EricaLubarsky]

And the Grizz are done

[saclare]

Just get through the Suns. I have a really good feeling about this Mavs squad and feel this is the series that decides it all.

[EricaLubarsky]

52 points up for the Grizz

[DevinHarriswillstart]

Three blowouts in 2 days. NBA is weird.

[BPo001]

Man what happened to Harden? Awful series for him, and hinestly he just didn’t take that many shots. He took 18 shots in game 4 which was his highest for the season. Is he worthy of a max deal?

[mac222b]

The redhead ref calling EVERY touch foul on us. We are getting none of those.